Naturally occurring steviol glycosides are sweet-tasting compounds that can be extracted from the stevia plant. Typical stevia plant extract includes, in varying amounts, stevioside, steviolbioside, rebaudioside A, rebaudioside B, rebaudioside C, rebaudioside D, rebaudioside E, and dulcoside A. Many of these steviol glycosides are potent, non-nutritive sweeteners and have been used by themselves or in combination with other steviol glycosides as sweeteners.
The food and beverage industry has been attempting to use steviol glycosides for sweetening foods and beverages because these compounds are natural, have a sweetness and flavor profile approaching that of sucrose, and have zero calories. But replacing nutritive sweeteners such as sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup with one or more steviol glycosides has been challenging. While non-nutritive sweeteners such as steviol glycosides offer sweetness and flavor profiles approaching those of their nutritive counterparts, most steviol glycosides do not fully replicate the taste of sugar and suffer from one or more of slow on-set or off-tastes including, for example, bitter, licorice, or lingering aftertastes.
Although some manufacturers have attempted to minimize undesired tastes using a specific steviol glycoside or by blending known steviol glycosides, food and beverage formulations having suitable flavor profiles broadly accepted by consumers have so far not been prepared.